After
by ToTheEndOfTheUniverse
Summary: The war is over, but the struggles are not. The beginning of Rose and Metacrisis Ten's adventures after Journey's End. Rated T for a bit of language.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** And it's finally finished! This story took about twice as long as I expected but at least it finally got done. Hope you all enjoy!

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><p>The fight was over. All five of them stood on Bad Wolf Bay, a Doctor on each side of Rose. Tears streamed down Rose's face, her emotions going in every direction. Her Doctor was trying to leave her, and yet here was another version of him, a <em>human<em> version of him, who was going to stay.

"Alright, both of you answer me this- when I last stood on this beach on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me?" Rose stared at her Doctor, "Go on. Say it."

"I said "Rose Tyler"." The Doctor answered back.

"Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?" Rose needed to hear him say it at least once.

"Does it need saying?"

Rose just stared at him. He couldn't be serious.

"And you, Doctor?" She turned to the copy, "What was the end of that sentence?"

The clone reached for Rose's arm and leaned in to her ear.

"I love you." he said, "So, so much."

As he leaned back Rose gazed at him, trying to soak it all in. All those years, waiting for confirmation, and there it was. She couldn't hold back. She grabbed his collar and pulled him to her. Passion washed over them. The wall they had created in those months of being together, always keeping their emotions in check, never wanting to push the other too far, came crashing down in that moment.

Rose heard the TARDIS door close. She spun, breaking her grasp on the Doctor and running after the disappearing time machine. But it was too late, they were gone. The Doctor, Donna, and the TARDIS closed off in their own dimension.

Rose felt the Doctor come up beside her and take her hand. They looked at each other and a wave of realization washed over Rose. Her Doctor, the Doctor that she had spent years trying to get back to, was now gone. Again. This man standing beside her, he wasn't the Doctor, he was just a copy.

Rose shook off his hand and glared at him, remorse, disgust, and resentment all boiling up inside her. This Doctor wasn't the one she had traveled with. He knew nothing of the first hand conversations Rose and her Doctor had shared late at night in the TARDIS, or of all the exploring they had done on alien planets, saving the lives of millions.

She stood there, devastated. How could her Doctor have done this to her, left her here with a man who claimed to be the person she loved?

"I'm going to call dad now." Jackie called over to them.

Rose just kept her gaze on the Doctor.

"Rose..." He tried to gauge where all this was coming from.

"No." Rose held up her hand, "Just... Don't speak. I don't know who you think you are, but you're not my Doctor."

The Doctor didn't know what to do, so he just stood there, staring at the woman he adored, heartbroken by her words.

Rose saw sadness glaze over his eyes and instantly felt guilty, but not guilty enough to change her mind. She turned her head away from him. She couldn't even look at him without feeling overwhelming misery.

The drive home was silent. Rose sat on one side of the car, the Doctor on the other. The tension in the air was so palpable that not even Jackie dared to utter a word. When they got back to the house, Rose slid out of the car and walked to her room, not making a noise the entire time. Once she was in her room, she slumped down on to her bed. What was she supposed to do? Here she was, stuck with someone who looked just like her Doctor, who acted just like her Doctor, but who wasn't him. She had spent _years _trying to get back to him, and now he was just… gone.

Rose curled up in the middle of her bed, trying to clear her mind. She kept hoping that this was all just a dream, that in the morning she would wake up back in the TARDIS and be on her way to seeing the real Doctor.


	2. Chapter 2

Jackie, Pete, and the Doctor sat in the living room, a fire flickering in the fireplace. Tony was asleep in Jackie's arms; Rose's mom gazed lovingly down at her son. Pete sat beside her on the couch, rubbing his thumb back and forth across the upper portion on Jackie's arm. The Doctor sat in an armchair across from them, grasping a cup of tea in both hands. He watched them for while, his mind wandering everywhere and nowhere.

"What was it like?" Jackie's voice came through the haze that surrounded the Doctor's mind.

"Hmm." He snapped out of his daydream, "What was what like?"

"You came from the Doctor's old hand right? What was that like?"

The Doctor chuckled, just like Jackie to ask the obvious questions. "I don't know..." He answered. "I just appeared I guess. I remember waking up in the TARDIS, all of his memories in my head. I knew how I had come to be, but it was like my conscience just appeared... But I was him, he was I. It's a weird feeling, knowing that you grew from only a hand and regeneration energy into someone who already exists."

"But are you really him?"

"I have his same memories, his feelings, and an exact replica of his brain in my head. The only thing that has changed is that I now have only one heart."

"Does Rose know any of this?"

He shook his head, "She knows, but does she believe it is the question..." He looked over at the fire, "I don't know what to do for her." He whispered. He wanted to be with her so badly, but at the same time he knew she needed some space. After all, today had been the craziest since the Battle of Canary Warf.

"She'll come around." Jackie's voice softened. It was weird to see the Doctor so open and torn.

The Doctor just continued to stare into the fire. He was worried that Rose would never come around to accept him, but was even more worried that she would never see him as the Doctor, only as the Doctor's clone.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Reposting due to the doc manager screwing with the copy and paste. Sorry for the inconvenience, I'll make sure to start double checking my posts.

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><p>Rose woke the next morning to find herself curled up the in the middle of her bed, clothes still on and covers tucked under the mattress. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, running her fingers through her hair. As her mind became less groggy the events of the other day hit her like a brick wall. She continued to sit there, trying to work out her emotions. She felt bad for the way she had acted towards the Doctor, but she still felt no differently towards him. He was just a shadow of what could have been.<p>

Rose got up and walked towards the mirror, staring at her downcast complexion; all the sorrow and anger still plastered on her face. Rose shook her head, as much as she didn't want to go downstairs and face the Doctor, she knew he was now a part of her life that she would have to get over eventually.

She changed clothes and walked downstairs. Jackie was feeding Tony at the kitchen table while Pete sat in the living room reading the paper.

"Good morning!" Jackie called over to Rose, taking her attention away from the babbling baby that sat in the high chair in front of her.

"Morning." Rose mumbled.

"Breakfast is on the counter. Take as much as you like."

"Thanks." Rose went over and placed a sausage on her plate before going to grab an egg. "Um... So, where's the Doctor?" Rose still hadn't seen him yet and she was hoping to get the initial confrontation over with.

"I know he stayed up pretty late. Maybe he's still asleep? Pete, honey, have you seen the Doctor?"

"Not since last night, sorry." Pete answered over the paper in his hands.

Rose didn't reply, just grabbed one last sausage before sitting down at the table. Rose picked around at her food. She was supposed to report in to work today, but trying to gather up the courage to walk in there was strenuous enough. In the end she figured it was better than staying home. At least it would give her something else to think about.

Rose arrived at Torchwood HQ just in time for her shift. As soon as she walked through the door she was awarded with applause.

"You're alive!" Marlow walked over and hugged Rose. "We were so worried that something would happen to you."

"I'm fine." Rose wasn't sure if that was directed more towards Marlow or herself.

"That's great! Now, is Mickey with you? He didn't show up this morning..." Marlow looked over Rose's shoulder.

"No. Um... Actually, Mickey stayed behind." Rose looked down, she hadn't even thought about the fact that she would never see her best friend again until now.

"Oh." Marlow frowned, "That's too bad."

Rose rolled her eyes, didn't they care about anyone around here?

"I know he considered all possibility when making his decision. He chose the right path for him." Rose glared at Marlow.

"I'm sure he did. And he will be missed terribly." Marlow assured Rose, "Now," She continued after a moment's pause, "There's some people who want to talk to you."

Marlow brought Rose down to the lab. As soon as she walked through the doors Rose was bombarded by hugs and applause from her fellow scientists, all of them wanting to know what had happened since she had been away. So Rose told her story, about how she found the Doctor, and how Davros was planning on destroy all races other than Daleks, and how she ended up back here with her own version of the Doctor, which everyone found quite romantic.

After the story was told Marlow pushed everyone back to their jobs; even with the Dalek threat demolished there was still work to be done. As the crowd parted Rose saw Henry standing by the back of the room. Smiles rose to both of their lips as their eyes met. Henry motioned for them to meet in Rose's office and Rose happily followed.

As soon as Rose walked into the room Henry ran at her, embracing her in a rib shattering hug.

"I was so worried about you!" Henry grunted into Rose's shoulder.

Rose laughed and they stepped back from one another. She had never been so happy to see someone from Torchwood before.

"Hi." was all Rose could think of to say.

"Hi." Henry chuckled, "How was the journey."

"Exhausting." Rose sighed.

"But the Doctor's back, if I heard that right?"

"Yeah he's back... I guess." Rose looked down.

"What's wrong?" Henry took a step closer to her.

"It's just that," Rose turned and started pacing, "I've wanted the Doctor to be back for so long, I've wanted to be reunited and never have to see him leave again, but now... It's not him, Henry. I mean, he was born from the Doctor, but he's not _the _Doctor, _my_ Doctor."

"Born from the Doctor...?"

Rose turned back to Henry and lifted her hand, wriggling her fingers, "Regenerated out of regeneration energy the Doctor had shot into his hand that was chopped off one Christmas." Henry looked mortified, "But don't worry, his hand grew back."

"Oh..." was all Henry could say.

"I just don't know what to do. This version of the Doctor, he looks just like him, talks just like him, I mean he's even human."

"Then I don't see the issue." Henry cut in, "I mean, he seems like the same guy. Hell he seems almost better than your old Doctor."

"I guess it's just the fact that I spent all that time and energy just so I could be reunited with the Doctor, to be left again on this world with nothing more than a clone."

"But the man that stayed with you is still a Doctor, whether it's the original or not?"

Rose paused, "Yes."

"Then I say you should at least give him a chance. Let him show you that it's really him."


	4. Chapter 4

Those last words stayed with Rose all day. She couldn't deny that what Henry said made sense. Rose sat in the car for a few minutes once she got home, thinking over every scenario she might encounter as she walked into that house. What if she opened the door and the Doctor was right there? What would she say? How would she act?

She needed to be more relaxed, act like nothing had ever happened. But how was that supposed to happen with everything being so fresh in her mind? But then what if the Doctor wasn't even home? What if he had run away? What if Rose had already scared him off?

Rose shut off the car and got out, holding herself high as she walked to the front doors. She wouldn't be afraid, or at least that was what she kept telling herself. She unlocked the door and walked inside.

At first it seemed like no one was home. Rose let down her guard a bit, expecting that if she was to see anyone, it would most likely be Jackie cooking dinner in the kitchen. But of course it was never that simple. As she entered the dining room she found the Doctor sitting at the table. No Jackie, no Pete, just the Doctor.

"Hi." the Doctor said, standing up when he saw Rose enter the room.

"Hi." Rose stammered, stopping dead in her tracks.

The Doctor sensed her tense up. "Um... How was work?" He glanced away, scratching behind his ear.

"It was good." Rose told herself to relax, there was no reason to be anxious. Let him prove it's still him. "Well, good might not be the word. Interesting is more like it."

"Good." The Doctor kept his gaze down, not wanting to make Rose feel pressured.

Rose didn't know what to say next. "Where's Jackie?" She asked after a minutes pause.

The Doctor finally met Rose's eyes again, "She left with Pete about an hour ago. I think they were going out to dinner. Pete said they were going to drop Tony off at the nanny's."

Rose thought for a second and then decided to go for it, "Well then, you want to go to dinner?"


	5. Chapter 5

That smile was the first genuine smile Rose had seen out of the Doctor since his other self had left him in this parallel world with her.

"Yes," he chuckled, "I would love to go to dinner."

Rose changed out of her work clothes into a simple sundress with leggings, grabbing her favorite blue leather jacket before heading downstairs to grab the Doctor. He was waiting by the front doors as Rose came down the stairs.

"OK, let's go!" Rose opened the door and walked to the car, getting in and letting the vehicle roar to life.

The Doctor got in the passenger side and sat down only moments after.

"What are you in the mood for?" Rose asked, turning to the man beside her.

The Doctor shrugged, "Whatever you want is good with me."

Rose put the vehicle in reverse, "I know just the place then."

About 15 minutes down the road from the house was one of her favorite restaurants. It wasn't a very fancy place, and the food wasn't all that great either, but it was the only eatery that existed in her old world as well. When Rose was here she felt like she was like she was back on her Earth, where she wasn't the adopted daughter of Pete Tyler and where she didn't have to put up with Torchwood's shit every day of the week.

"I remember this place." The Doctor commented as they pulled in. "Wasn't this that one restaurant that was down there past the old primary school? We went there once for Jackie's birthday!" he smiled as the old memories rushed back.

Rose smiled, "Yep. So far it's the only restaurant I've found that survived the parallel shift."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose, "Why did it have to be this one?"

Rose parked the car, "Oh come on now." She taped his arm with the back on her hand, "Can't be too picky now can we?"

"I suppose not." he sighed as they got out of the car, "But still, why couldn't it had been like, Kerbisher & Malt's."

Rose laughed, "You and your fish and chips. For being an alien you do eat very British."

"Regeneration flaw I supposed. I don't get to choose my tastebuds, they just sort of appear with the rest of me."

"OK, yes, good point."

Dinner lasted long into the night. Even after the hour it took for them to get their food, Rose and the Doctor just kept talking, time slipping by without either one of them noticing.

"...wait so Pete did _what?_" The Doctor asked.

"He stood up on the table and..." Rose stopped, taking notice for the first time that the restaurant had gone relatively silent. As she glanced around she noticed that there was only one other couple left in the building, the workers almost done cleaning up for the night. "What time is it?" Rose broke off from her story.

The Doctor looked at a clock on the wall, "Eleven thirty."

Rose's eyes went wide, "Is it seriously that late?" She laughed, too carefree in the moment to care that Jackie and Pete were probably thinking that either something had gone wrong or the couple was out snogging each other senseless.

"We should probably get home." The Doctor interrupted Rose's laughing fit.

"Yeah," She tried to catch her breath, "you're right."

When they got home Jackie rushed them, "Where were you!? I tried calling you at least 10 times and you never picked up!" She was furious.

Rose checked her phone. Twenty-one missed calls, all from her mom. "I'm sorry I must have forgotten to turn the ringer back on." Rose looked at her mom, "We just went to dinner, that's it."

"Well call me next time you decide to be out that late."

"Mom, I'm not a kid." Rose rolled her eyes.

"You are as long as you live in this house." And with that Jackie turned and stomped away.

Rose huffed, her mood instantly ruined.

"I know you have work tomorrow so I'll let you get some sleep." The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See ya tomorrow." Rose turned and started to walk up the stairs, then turned back around, "Oh, and Doctor." She watched his form swivel quickly back to face her, "Thank you for going to dinner with me."

He smiled, "It was my pleasure."


	6. Chapter 6

As soon as her bedroom door was shut Rose fell backwards onto the bed. She wanted to slap Henry for being right. It still boggled Rose's mind that this man, who was a completely different person in the sense that this was a completely new body, and form, from her original Doctor, could still have all his memories.

She fell asleep, the night replaying in her mind.

Rose was due early at work the next morning. The house was completely silent when she awoke. She was still exhausted from staying up so late the other night, but then again morning's never were her thing.

She looked over at the blue digital clock that rested on the nightstand next to her bed. The time four-thirty glared at her in its unwelcome, sickly green light. Rose rolled over and buried her head into her pillow. _Yep, _she decided, _work is just not going to happen today._

By the time Rose finally got out of bed, Jackie, Tony, Pete, and the Doctor were in the living room, watching the late morning news.

"I guess work isn't for you today?" Jackie asked.

"Nope. Called in sick." Rose answered, taking a seat next to the Doctor on the couch that faced the TV. Rose saw Pete smile as she took her place next to the Time Lord.

"Well, I should probably start heading out." Pete stood up, leaning over to kiss Jackie and hug Tony goodbye. "I suppose I should tell everyone that you have a bad case of..." Pete turned to Rose, looking for an answer.

"Stomach bug. Nasty one at that. Can't stop throwing up." Rose smiled.

Pete winked, then gave one last wave before walking out of the room.

"I hope you realize how much your father loves you." Jackie looked over at Rose.

"I know." Rose replied. It seemed like Pete understood her more than her mother ever did. She honestly wondered what they ever saw in each other.

After the news was over Jackie got up, taking an unwilling Tony by the hand.

"I guess I better get this one cleaned up. I'm going to drop Tony off at the daycare and then I'm heading over to Sue's to help her with some painting at their new house. You two will be fine by yourselves, right?"

"Of course, mom." Rose wondered how long it would be before Jackie stopped treating her like a kid. Ever since they got stuck in this world, it seemed like Jackie had to constantly keep tabs on Rose, like she was afraid the TARDIS was going to show back up and take her daughter away again.

The Doctor and Rose just sat silently on the couch until Jackie eventually left.

"So..." The Doctor broke the slightly awkward silence.

"So." Rose didn't have anything to say. Honestly, all she really wanted to do was sleep.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, making small talk.

"For the most part. Still exhausted from the war to be honest. You?"

"It's a weird feeling, being human. I never understood how you all could sleep so much, but now, every time I try to stay up my eyes feel like they have a mind of their own."

"You'll get used to it. But I have to say, some days I wished I didn't have to sleep. There's just so much stuff that has to get done sometimes."

The Doctor nodded, not adding anything to the subject.

"Do you miss being a Time Lord?" Rose asked out of the blue.

The Doctor continued to stare forward and Rose wondered if he had even heard her.

"Yes." The Doctor answered after a moment, "Sometimes. I miss the feeling of having two hearts, I miss the TARDIS, I even miss the sound of all of space and time pouring through my head." He turned to look at Rose, "But I don't miss not being able to be with you."

Rose reached over and grabbed the Doctor's hand, their fingers intertwining.

His touch sent a jolt through Rose's body. She missed this. It reminded her of all those times, running through the universe, staring up at the stars of unknown constellations.

Yet even though they were stuck on this planet, Rose knew that the adventures were only just beginning.


	7. Chapter 7

A week passed. Rose kept her mind open about the Doctor, Henry's words constantly echoing through her head. This was Rose's first day back to work since she got the "stomach bug". She felt bad for missing, but at the same time she didn't feel like dealing Marlow. Pete was nice enough to vouch for Rose, making up the story that she was barely able to get out of bed and was constantly throwing up. Of course this caused yet another bombardment of questions from colleagues when she arrived. Was she ok, how bad was it, oh I'm so glad you're better, the list went on and on. Rose was just glad when she could finally sit down.

A few hours into paperwork, Henry came to visit Rose. He looked absolutely exhausted.

"Hey." Rose was happy for the distraction.

"Hi." Henry pulled up an extra seat to the side of Rose's desk.

"Long day?"

He rolled his eyes, placing his elbows on the edge of the desk, "You have no idea. Marlow has us working on some type of planet obliterator ray. She says it's just for if things get really bad and we have to face a big enemy, but her intentions are never that pure."

"And you guys are really going along with this?"

"I need a paycheck, don't I? Why else are any of us here?"

"Good point." If it wasn't for that fact that Rose hated asking Pete for money, and used this as an excuse to get away from everyone, she would have quit a long time ago.

"So. How are things going with you know who?" Henry asked, leaning in like a fourteen year old about to be told life changing gossip.

"It's going really well, actually. Surprisingly well. And I guess I have you to thank for that."

"Me?"

"I haven't been able to get what you told me about giving him a chance out of my head. It's actually getting kind of annoying at this point."

Henry laughed, "I think that's the first piece of good advice I've ever given. Or at least it's the first time someone has ever told me that my advice worked."

"I can't see you giving bad advice."

"Just wait, I'm sure I'll say something stupid sooner or later. Like, claiming to be sick and having my very powerful dad vouch for me."

"Hey, I was totally sick." Rose gave Henry a look that said "you know you're right but don't you dare say anything".

"More like sick of Marlow." He said under his breath.

"You've got that right." Rose mumbled, turning back to the dwindling stack of paperwork. "Like, what is this?" she gestured to the papers, "I'm not a secretary, this isn't my job."

"What is she even having you do?"

"Paperwork on weapons. I have to go through and check to make sure that everything was filed correctly. I have to say that I never realized how many guns we had that can take out entire continents."

"I swear Marlow is making us a target, not only for the UN but for other planets as well. If anyone out there realizes how big our stockpile is... I mean how do you not take that as a threat?"

Rose shook her head, "Has anyone brought this up to her?"

"They're probably too scared to. I mean, how do you argue with the second most important person in the company?"

Rose didn't reply, he had a very good point.

"Well, I should probably get back to the lab. Construction starts up again soon. But I'll see you tomorrow, if you're not sick again."

"Don't worry, I'll be here."

Henry left and Rose threw her head against the desk, her mind refusing to do any more paperwork. And so she said screw it, got up, and left. She could care less what anyone thought, but she was not going to sit around and give herself a headache over paperwork that wasn't even for her department.

She got home at five, a good hour before Jackie would pick up Tony from daycare and about two hours before Pete would leave his office. She walked into the living room, fell onto the couch, and with face buried in the cushions let out the longest groan of her life.

"Hello?" a voice called from somewhere a few rooms away, "Who's there?"

"It's me." Rose said, picking her face out of the cushion before putting it back down.

She heard the Doctor walk in the room. "I thought you weren't supposed to be home until six?"

"I left early." Rose shifted her head to the right so she could see him. "Do they seriously just leave you here by yourself all day?"

"Yeah." He sat on a cushioned foot stool a few feet away.

"Doesn't that get boring? I can't imagine you just sitting around watching TV all day."

"Nah." He pulled one of his crazy "my mouth is half the size of my face" expressions. "There's always quantum physics that need to be disproved and laws of aeronautics that need to be broken."

Rose smiled and closed her eyes, "You are something else."

The Doctor continued to stare at Rose. He couldn't get enough of her. This new body made it like he was seeing her for the first time, she made him a better person.

"What are you doing tonight?" The Doctor asked.

"Nothing as far as I know." Rose opened her eyes again, "Why?"

"There's a park not too far from here. Would you care to join me on a walk?"

"I would be delighted to."

The sun was falling to the horizon as Rose and the Doctor walked down a stone path, a canopy of trees surrounding them. They were completely alone, minus the occasional jogger who took no notice of them.

"The sky is beautiful." Rose commented, looking up as the last rays of the day passed through the pink and orange clouds above them.

"It is." The Doctor agreed, "Autumn skies always have a certain comfort to them."

"What were the seasons like on Gallifrey?" Rose could never get enough stories of the Doctor's home planet.

The Doctor reached over and brushed Rose's hand, their fingers locking together. "About every four years the season would change. Autumn was probably my second favorite season. The silver leaves would turn gold, constantly lighting the forests with their fiery radiance, even at night. The grass would turn a dark, plum purple and the mountains were completely white with snow. But the nicest thing is that for the first time in years there would be a little relief to the heat.

There wasn't much of a winter. There would be around 2 years of blistering cold, and if we were lucky, one big snow storm would blow through. No one dared to leave the dome of the city unless absolutely necessary. Spring brought the silver back to the trees, but it also brought back the heat. My favorite season had to be Geotia, which fell in between spring and summer. It rained almost constantly, but it was a gorgeous, golden rain that coated everything, making the planet shimmer. The children played outside every day. It was more than likely the only time in their childhood they would ever see rain. The only lake on the planet formed in the crater of Jarbarou, and would stay for about a year into the summer before the sun evaporated the water back into the atmosphere." The Doctor stared off into the distance, childhood memories flooding back.

Rose gazed up at the Doctor, whose mind had obviously left Earth. The way he talked about Gallifrey, with such love and despair; the images that he could form in her mind; she felt bad for bringing up the memories but his intonation was addictive. She squeezed his hand, laying her head on his shoulder.

"It sounds beautiful." Rose commented.

"I wish you would have been there to see it." He continued to stare forward.

The rest of their walk was silent but Rose didn't mind. Walking hand in hand through the grassy openings, gazing at the fading sky, it was the first comfort she had felt in a while.

As the stars came out they decided to head back to the house. Jackie and Pete were finishing dinner as Rose and the Doctor entered the kitchen laughing about when the Doctor brought Rose home a year later than he was supposed to.

"You two have fun?" Pete asked, getting up to put his plate in the sink.

"Yes." Rose said, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Well, there's some extra food in the oven for you two if you're hungry." Pete smiled.

"Thanks dad." Rose went over and kissed Pete's cheek before practically skipping into the kitchen.

Pete turned to the Doctor, "What did you do to her?"

The Doctor shook his head, grinning from ear to ear, "I have no idea."

Rose headed up to bed after eating. She still couldn't stop smiling. Every thought of the Doctor made her giddy. Rose walked into her bathroom and splashed water on her face, trying to get herself to calm down. She felt like she was falling in love all over again, and she couldn't help reveling in the sensation.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry for the lack of update last week. The past week and a half have been incredibly busy but finals are over and I finally have the time to start posting and writing again. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

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><p>Progress was made every week in the relationship between Rose and the Doctor, while work for Rose went by as slow as ever. No new alien invasions or sightings, no real progress on Marlow's planet ray, just a lot of sitting around and pointless busywork that Marlow would throw in Rose's direction.<p>

It was late one night in October and Rose could not fall asleep. She tossed and turned all night, her body refusing to get comfortable. Her mind would not get off Torchwood and the idiocy of the company. She glanced at her alarm clock. 2 am. Rose sighed and sat up, turning to put on the slippers by the side of her bed before walking to the widow. She glanced out the glass, looking out at the moon lit horizon; a black figure on the lawn catching her attention.

She smiled, putting on a pair of sweatpants before quietly making her way outside.

She walked out to the silhouette, taking a seat beside him.

"You couldn't sleep either?" The Doctor asked. He laid with his back on the grass, hands behind his head as he stared up at the stars.

"Nope." Rose laid beside him, their legs touching.

Rose loved how far away they lived from the lights of the city. Here they were able to see the stars unfiltered. It was a sight Rose was sure she would never get used to.

"Parallel worlds. They bring so much mystery with them." The Doctor said. "We're in a whole different pocket on the universe. Who knows what's up there?"

"How do you know it's not a replica of the other Earth?"

"The constellations are wrong. These aren't even close to the same skies. See there," the Doctor removed his left hand and pointed up to a cluster of stars, "Orion should be there. And the Big Dipper over there," he moved his hand, "but they've been replaced with stars I've never seen." He placed his hand back behind his head. "And there's three other planets in the sky right now. Are they other versions of Earth, or are they the parallel versions of other planets? I've been wondering about this for a while. No one has ever had the opportunity to explore what's around a parallel world, because the people who live here don't know it's not the original."

"How many times have you been out here?" Rose asked, shifting her body over so that her head could rest on the Doctor's chest. She was startled when she heard the beating of only one heart, rather than the two she had come to accept. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, but it still came as a shock when she was reminded that she wasn't with a Time Lord any more.

"At least twice a week I think. I still can't get used to this sleeping thing."

Rose chuckled, "The beating of your heart says you should be thinking otherwise."

The Doctor smiled, wrapping one of his arms around Rose's waist, his thumb stroking the curve in her side. "Yeah, well, I guess the human instincts haven't caught up to me yet."

"That's fine with me." Rose breathed, her eyes starting to close.

The Doctor started humming a tune Rose was very familiar with, an old Gallifreyan hymn that he used to sing around the TARDIS. Rose snuggled in closer at the sound, memories of the lazy days in the TARDIS making their way into her mind. Within minutes Rose was fast asleep. The Doctor continued to lie there for a while, enjoying the feeling of Rose snuggling into him.

As the sky started to lighten the Doctor decided to move back inside the house. He slowly wriggled his way out from underneath Rose, being careful not to wake her. He slipped his hand under her legs and shoulders, lifting her up next to his body. Rose sleepily groan, lifting her arms around his neck and placing her head against his shoulder.

The Doctor made his way into the house and upstairs to Rose's bedroom, laying Rose down on the bed. The Doctor smiled, internally chuckling to himself as he thought about all the other times he had to do this in the TARDIS when Rose would fall asleep. He tucked the covers around Rose's shoulders, leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead.

Rose smiled, shifting in her sleep. The Doctor turned and quietly made his way out of the room, shutting the door behind him. His mind refused to shut off as he walked across the hallway and turned the corner that lead to his room. He stumbled around the unfinished machines that lay on the floor, finally ending up on his bed. The thought of Rose swirled around his head, refusing to go away. He had been waiting so long to be able to be with her, and now he was having to win her over again. But he didn't mind. It was interesting to him to watch her change, not having to worry about his own feelings at the same time.

The Doctor grinned, his cheeks hurting from the force being applied to his skin. No matter how long it took, or how many times he had to prove himself, he wouldn't give up on her. He loved her too much to do that.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose found herself having to mentally drag herself out of bed on the days she had work. She tried to find the positive: good pay, being able to talk to Henry about her problems, working with alien technology; but even all that didn't overpower the long boring days of sitting at a desk, doing random piles of paperwork, and having to deal with Marlow's shit.

She had started complaining to the Doctor, telling him the stories of how Marlow was making a device that would destroy whole planets and how she felt like her abilities weren't being applied where they should be. After all she had helped in the making the Temporal Projector. She assumed that would count for something in Marlow's opinion.

"Have you tried talking to Marlow?" The Doctor asked after listening to Rose's fumed rant. They sat facing each other, cross-legged on Rose's bed.

"No…" Rose looked down, picking at the comforter.

"Maybe you should. Try to work out your differences. It's not healthy to work for a boss who causes you this much stress."

Rose kept her head down. She knew he had a point, but after what Marlow had pulled with letting her go in alone for the Dalek invasion... Rose wasn't about to forgive her so easily.

Rose started hoping that something would occur on her way to work to make her late. But of course nothing ever happened. To keep her occupied, Rose started tagging along with Henry, watching the construction of the "death ray" as everyone who worked on the project secretly called it.

Robert Nash, the President of Torchwood, started coming to the construction meetings. He was a tall, thicker man, with brown hair that was slicked back. He held himself with a such confidence that the intimidation felt by the scientists radiated throughout the room whenever he was present.

Robert started sticking around the office more and more, getting to know everyone from the desk assistant to the lead scientist. Rose wasn't a big fan of the man, but couldn't complain about his presence; Marlow actually acted human while he was around, and not like a soulless bitch.

It wasn't but three days after Robert's arrival that he made his way up to Rose.

"Ms. Tyler?" His voice was rougher than Rose expected it to be.

"Yes?" Rose spun away from scientist she was talking to to glance at who was speaking to her.

"I just wanted to let you know that your actions on Project Tombstone did not go unnoticed, and I wanted to personally thank you for all that you have done for Torchwood." His smile was too fake and his downward glance did not go unnoticed.

"Thanks." Rose was short. She did not want to have to deal with this man for any longer than she needed to.

"And I was wondering, due to your success on Tombstone, if you would want to take a lead position on our current experiment with the Interspectrum Ray?"

Rose was slightly shocked. "I would love to." At least someone recognized her potential.

"Great. I'm promoting you to head of design." He glanced down at his watch, "Oh, I'm late for my meeting. Good luck Ms. Tyler. I look forward to hearing great things about you." He turned and walked to the nearest elevator.

As soon as he turned away from Rose she ran off to find Henry. He was in his office on break, the next construction shift starting in about two hours.

"Hey, Rose." He said, looking up after hearing the knock on his door.

"Hey." She walked in, taking a seat in one of the chairs that faced the front of the desk.

"What's up?" Henry put down his pen and looked at Rose. It was not often that she came to visit him, and when she did it was usually because she had something pressing on her mind.

"Well Robert finally talked to me." She started.

"Not surprising. He was bound to talk to the person who saved the world eventually."

Rose gave him a "don't be such a suck up" look before continuing. "He asked me to be the head of design, after looking down my shirt of course." Rose mumbled the last part.

Henry's eyes widened, "He _what? _Oh my God, what a slime ball. I knew I got a weird vibe off of him, but I never expected it to be for anything like that."

"Honestly, what is wrong with all these Torchwood directors?" Rose shook her head.

"Your dad really needs to think about pushing his way to the top. This business would be so much better with him running it."

"He doesn't want all that responsibility, especially not with Tony being so young."

"I can understand that… But hey at least you finally have a position on the team."

"Yeah, no more paperwork for me for a while."

Rose stuck with Henry in his office until they had to go work on the gun.

When Rose got to the lab she reviewed all the sketches and paperwork that had been drawn up from the initial production stages. Rose suggested a few ideas to the other scientists about how she thought the design could be improved, and after a few minutes of playing off each other's ideas, they had a solid concept on how to finish the rest of the ray.

Construction lasted for about 2 hours before they decided to call it a day and head home.

Rose was the last one to arrive home that night. It was almost eleven at night and all Rose really wanted to do was pass out and not wake up for about a month.

Jackie, Pete, and the Doctor all swiveled around in their seats when Rose entered the living room.

"Marlow keep you late?" Pete asked.

"No. Robert promoted me to head of design on the Interspectrum Ray." Rose threw her keys on the ottoman that sat in the middle of the room before taking a seat beside the Doctor on their normal couch. "We just got finished on the last shift of the night."

"Yikes." Pete answered.

"Mmhm." Rose's eyes were already starting to close.

They all went back to watching TV, not wanting to question Rose any more; it was obvious that she was exhausted. Rose tried to keep her eyes open, attempting to pay attention to the nature documentary that was on TV, but exhaustion was taking over. Before she knew it she was asleep, head resting on the Doctor's shoulder.

The Doctor smiled, wrapping his arm around Rose's shoulders, shifting her head into a more comfortable position on the top of his chest.

Jackie glanced over at the couple, smiling. "I'm glad she's finally coming around."

The Doctor looked down at Rose's face. He always loved the way she looked when she slept. It was the only time he ever saw her with her guard completely down, and was the only time nowadays that she seemed relaxed.

"Yeah," He answered Jackie, "Me too."


End file.
